Get some on you!

Over the winter I took on a pretty good size project around the house. Knocked down a few walls, added some new rooms, cut in a door and a window or two. I found myself stretched to the limits of my skills as I sheet-rocked, painted, wired, plumbed, and even did some siding work. Bottom-line, Dale was happy with the additions – so all the effort was well worth it, for her happiness brings me so much happiness as well. BUT, and as you know there's always a “but” when one of my stories start out this upbeat....

She wasn't nearly as happy when she came home day after day to see that I had ruined another shirt, or a pair of pants again. Everyday I got something on my shirt, then my pants. Paint, stain, grease, grime, caulk, stains of all kinds. Working for myself I had no uniform or company provided work clothes, so I'd just throw on whatever I normally would wear and hit it. Well, after ruining all my favorite tee shirts and a few good jeans I decided Dale was right I had better stop wearing the things I like to wear out in public and start ruining some of my less than favorite things. Like that goofy looking shirt my brother-in-law gave me for Christmas three years ago that I've never worn. Oops!

The problem is all ME and I accept that! No matter what I find in my hands, be it paint, glue, caulk, or my absolute favorite, a large Mocha Java Chiller from Sonics - I seem to always get some on me. It doesn't matter how careful I set out to be, or how aware I am of the fact I'm wearing a good shirt, I still end up with a dribble, a drop, or slosh or two down the front of my shirt. And there's Dale always letting her little kindergartener of a husband know how displeased she is with him. I try and make light of the situation, but that rarely eases the tension. I'll go stand in the corner for a while and finally come out with a big ol cup of I'm sorry and I'll be more careful next time, and she'll give me a pass once again. She knows, and I know that I'll always get some on me, no matter what it is, so she tries to come to grips with having a slob of a husband.

What I've learned through many of you over the past few years is that when it comes to relationships – true relationships they're simply impossible to maintain over a long period of time without getting some on you. If you really want to be my friend for whatever crazy reason, you'll have to accept the fact that you'll get some on you every now and then. I accept the same on my end, thus I don't normally wear my good shirts around you, or maybe you haven't noticed. When you're my friend you may get a few tear stains on your shoulder, or a hurt feeling or two, or maybe even a bit of frustration vented in the wrong direction which you shouldn't have to listen to. But one thing is for sure, you also get some of the good stuff on you as well. You get loyalty - you get dependability - you get love - you get respect - you get a true friend that will be there in times of trouble. Oh yeah, and you'll also get a Bail-bondsman if you land in jail. I throw that one in for free for my really good friends.

Now here's some more truth. I can count on my fingers the true friends I have and still have a digit or two left over. Sad huh! What I've found over the past few years is as long as some folks don't get some on them they don't mind being called my friend. Let things get a bit sideways, or let them hear some untruth being orchestrated by a confused person and all of a sudden I'm seen as being too messy to deal with. You know what I mean. I'm sure you've had folks that called you friend yet walk down the other aisle at Walmart to avoid an uncomfortable conversations with you. Come on now, don't tell me I'm the only messy one out there. I've seen your shirts, you've seen mine. I've gotten some on me, and so have you with some of your friends. It comes with the territory, the territory of true friendship. That's just the way it is, and as a person that doesn't mind getting some on him, I wouldn't have it any other way. As far as those that abandon you when they get a little spattered, let forgiveness take over, and move on.


True discipleship works the same way. You can't truly strive to be Christ like without getting some on you every now and again. Be it the stench from a homeless soul that hasn't bathed in two weeks, or the foulness of a drunk friend needing someone to say hey enough is enough it's time to get help. Shaking hands with those in line at the soup kitchen may cause you to keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in your pocket, but hey you deal with it, and get back to shaking the next hand coming your way. 'Cause this I know, being a servant most certainly requires getting some on you from time to time.

Rob Bell, of the Nooma variety talks about the dust that was kicked up from the feet of the Rabbis in the times of Jesus, and how that if you wanted to follow a particular Rabbi it meant you had to accept the fact you went everywhere he went. You did everything he did. You traveled the same roads he traveled, but you did it behind him where all the dust was being kicked up. A student didn't do the leading, he did the following, and following meant eating the dust of your Rabbi. So at the end of the day you were covered head to toe with your Rabbi's dust. Thus it is to follow Jesus, our Rabbi.

If you want to be a student of the Great Teacher, you have to go where he went, you have to serve where he served, you have to love as he loved, and in the meantime you'll have to accept the fact your going to get some on you. As Jesus rose from his seat at the table with His disciples surrounding him, he removed His robe and covered His waste with a towel and began to wash their feet. Jesus knew all too well that a good ol' foot washing meant you're going to get some on you - be it water, dirt, toe-jam whatever. Okay maybe that was a little too graphic, but you get my point. Servanthood doesn't come with a uniform. It doesn't come with a nice comfortable chair or pew. It doesn't always come with a suit and a tie. Sometimes it comes with a towel around your waist-line, and bruises on your knees. It comes with cigarette smoke on your clothes, and rain soaked underwear. Splinters in your hands, and tears from your eyes. It comes with the smell of sweat and aches in your bones. It comes with a weariness at night, and a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Trust me my friend, being a true disciple most certainly comes with the high expectation of getting some on you.

Here's what I've found from studying other servants of Christ. The really, really “good” ones – rejoice in the fact they get some on them. They don't fret over it. They don't try and avoid it. They don't start out with the notion, today I'll try to work really neat and not get any on me. NO, they jump right in there with their good clothes on and say; who cares, bring it on world. Blood, spit, tears, snot, all; acceptable stuff to get on you when your heart is seeking God's heart. Rain doesn't stop you, night-time doesn't slow you down, the word NO just doesn't apply. You keep going because you're following in the footsteps of your Rabbi – Jesus, and He doesn't stop going. You commit yourself to go where He would go today. The homeless shelters, the bad neighborhoods, the soup kitchens, the drug addiction centers, the nursing homes, the schools, the basketball courts, the welfare centers, and yes into homes that look like they are ready to fall down around you. You go, you follow, you get some on you, and you do all this - because it's all that He asks of you. Jesus gave everything He had for us – His life, His blood, His all, for such undeserving creatures. All He asks in return is that we make our self available to do the same for those that don't know first-hand about the amazing love He has for them. He didn't say go sit on the third row of the church until I return. He didn't say, just serve as the chairperson over a committee or two until I get back. He didn't instruct us to merely invite people to come to “our church” and that would be good enough. NO, He said go out into a dying and lost world and tell them - show them the good news that I give you.

My friends in the event you've forgotten, as I have at times; The Gospel of Jesus Christ begins with the warning: Do this, and you most certainly will get some on you - and it ends with the promised reward that those who spend a life time getting some on them will spend the rest of eternity with Him and His father. Okay, maybe it doesn't say it exactly like that but that's what His word says to me. As I head out today I look down and see once again I'm wearing a stain-filled shirt today, hoping to get some on me, and I'm as happy as a pig in slop. And Dale would be okay with that – I think! Doug